Harbor Island (Lead)

Harbor Island is a 420-acre island located in the Duwamish River delta in Elliott Bay in the City of Seattle, Washington. The man-made island was constructed on the Duwamish River delta with the addition of bulkheads and fill placed in the early 1900s. The Harbor Island site has evolved from an industrialized upland area into a complex cleanup site involving both the upland area and the offshore sediment. Contaminated media included soils, sediments, and groundwater. Cleanup for the various OUs of the site has included contaminated soil removal and upland capping, dredging of contaminated sediment, capping contaminated material that remains in place, enhanced natural recovery, and groundwater monitoring. The cleanup goals are defined in the various Harbor Island formal decision documents (Records of Decision [ROD], Explanations of Significant Differences, and state Cleanup Action Plans [CAPs]) for each OU. The site is heavily industrialized and is expected to remain industrialized in the future. There are currently no residences on the island. The entire island and associated sediments are designated as the Superfund site. The site is not yet construction complete. Ongoing activities include long-term groundwater monitoring, IC implementation, cap inspections and maintenance, and design and construction of air sparging and soil vapor extraction systems in the Tank Farm OU. Additionally, a supplemental remedial investigation and feasibility study is underway at the East Waterway OU.

The Harbor Island Site began as an investigation of a secondary lead smelter located on the island. The distribution of lead and other metals occurred over the entire island and, therefore, the investigation became island-wide. After the investigation began, it was realized that creating separate operable units (OUs) would be advantageous for managing the cleanup processes (see Figures 2-1 and 2-2 located at the end of this document). Investigations began site wide for soil and groundwater contamination. The Lockheed Upland OU was soon established to facilitate a cleanup of a particular land parcel on a separate time and management schedule. The investigation of contaminated sediments both nearshore and in Elliott Bay were separated and added as new OUs. Part of the island investigation included petroleum tank farms, and management of these parcels was given to Ecology as the Tank Farms OU. The OU number is a database number used to identify each of the OUs and is for reference only as the official OU name does not include a number. The following is a list of the operable units in current use:

Operable Unit No.

Description

01

Soil and Groundwater Operable Unit (S&G-OU1)

02

Tank Farms OU (TF-OU2)

03

Lockheed Upland OU (LU-OU3)

04, 05, 06

No longer considered as operable units

07

Lockheed Shipyard Sediments OU (LSS-OU7)

08

West Waterway Sediments OU (WW-OU8)

09

Todd Shipyards Sediments OU (TSS-OU9)

10

East Waterway Sediments OU (EW-OU10)

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The purpose of a Five-Year Review is to determine whether the remedy at a site is protective of human health and the environment and is a required statutory review for sites having contamination remaining on-site that results in unrestricted use. Contamination remains in both the uplands soil and sediments at concentrations greater than allowable for unrestricted use. Some institutional controls (ICs) are in place, such as restrictions on drilling wells and uncontrolled discharges to surface water. Most of these restricted areas are on properties owned by or under the control of large potentially responsible parties, i.e., Port of Seattle and major oil companies. In addition, Five-Year Review Reports identify issues or deficiencies found during the review, if any, and recommendations to address them.